


Saviors

by angelsandbrowncoats



Series: True Heroes Defend [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Blood Drinking, Blood and Torture, Child Abuse, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Meg 1.0, Physical Abuse, Ruby 2.0, Self-Hatred, Sexual Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, dark!fic, most of it is in the past though, only a couple of sections are descriptive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-08
Updated: 2014-07-08
Packaged: 2018-02-07 23:54:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1918908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelsandbrowncoats/pseuds/angelsandbrowncoats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael and Lucifer are unlikely best friends, but Michael knows there's something Lucifer isn't telling him.</p>
<p>Lucifer hates lying to Michael, but he's too afraid to tell the truth.</p>
<p>At least, until something happens that makes him desperate enough to risk everything...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Saviors

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first dark!fic and it is unbeta'd, so please don't judge too harshly. I don't know where the idea came from, but I just kind of went with it. And, as I've mentioned before, I am still very unused to writing any form of romance/etc. I just hope it doesn't suck.

Saviors:

 

Lucifer was late. Again. Michael checked his watch for the fourth time in two minutes. He should have been there ages ago. Despite their differences, the two had been friends for many years so Michael wasn’t exactly surprised. Lucifer was carefree and nonchalant and maybe he thought being late would look ‘cool’. Michael shuddered at the very word. ‘Prestigious’ was more his thing.

Most outsiders were confused as to why they were friends. Michael was the good kid-straight ‘A’s, athletic, polite, and rule abiding. Lucifer was the dead opposite, leather jackets, cigarettes, metal music, skipping class, disrespect for authority, and often just disappearing to who knew where. Okay, maybe they were a little confused as to why they were friends, too.

It all started in seventh grade when Lucifer’s family moved to their town. Not really a small town, Michael didn’t know anything about them until the first day of school. He was horrified by the kind of rabble the school was admitting. Lucifer was not the shy new kid in that he stated a similar opinion of Michael to his face the first time he met him. They proceeded to pick on each other for two years before they realized their recent encounters were less bullying and more idle chatting. They even ended up tutoring each other because it turned out Lucifer was a genius in many fields. He just lacked the caring bit.

And now they were inseparable. Everyone knew that they had each other’s backs and left them well alone, save for Michael’s siblings. Raphael disapproved strongly of Lucifer, but she refrained from doing more than telling him that once. Gabriel liked him _too_ much in Michael’s opinion and he feared for the day that Lucifer offered to tutor him as well. Gadreel completely ignored him, more out of having no reason to acknowledge him than rudeness. The triplets, Anna, Cas, and Balthazar thought he was funny, but were the main three confused as to why their strict older brother would hang out with him. Their father basically lived at the office (located in a different state no less) and Michael was really in charge, so he didn’t have to worry about parental disapproval.

Of course, when he phrased it that way, it made it sound like they were in a _relationship_. That was most certainly not the case, no matter what they both knew people whispered behind their backs. And Michael knew for damn sure they weren’t because maybe just maybe he’d been harboring a secret crush on Lucifer since he first insulted him. No one had ever insulted Michael before. (bar sibling banter, which hardly counted in his mind) He’d been downright awed.

No one knew Michael was bisexual, and he intended to keep it that way. It may not have been a _small_ town, but it wasn’t exactly a large one either, and it _wasn_ ’t exactly a tolerant one. He had no idea what sort of reception he’d get.

Lucifer was a bit more open, constantly ‘going home’ with both guys and girls whenever he hung out at a club, using a fake ID, of course.

Michael had confided in Gadreel, not because of a particular attachment, but rather because he knew he would neither judge nor hold it as blackmail. Gadreel had replied with the sound advice that he should just express his feelings.

But Michael knew how forward Lucifer was. If he really felt something, he would have said so, right? And besides, it didn’t take a genius to tell that Lucifer hid things from Michael. What happened when he just vanished for a few days? Why did he never seem to care about anything? How come in four years Michael’s never once been to or even been invited to Lucifer’s house? Whenever he asked, Lucifer would change the subject or just make an excuse to leave. No healthy relationship could be built upon that sort of shady behavior and Michael’s rational brain reminded him of that constantly.

He was jarred from his thoughts by the subject of said thoughts sitting down abruptly across from him. The first thing Michael noticed when he looked up at Lucifer was that the boy looked extremely uncomfortable, but that was understandable given the awkward wooden library chairs they were sitting in.

“Care to tell me why you’re late today?” he inquired sarcastically, eyebrow raised. Lucifer shrugged, “Not really.” Michael sighed. One day he’d get an answer. Instead of continuing the conversation, Lucifer opened his notes and started asking questions about the car engines they were studying in shop. Clearing his head of all distracting thoughts, Michael leaned over to correct the horribly misfigured sketch.

Two hours later, they’d finished up with all their classes. Michael glanced over at Lucifer dumping his books into a bag and shouldering it mechanically. He looked like he needed a break, even if he didn’t put in much effort.

“Want to come over today? We could keep working on those plans or something?” When they weren’t working on schoolwork, Michael and Lucifer often combined their brilliance to plan and construct new machines. Lucifer once expressed their shared opinion that a perfect career would be co-inventors where they could both just sit around all day and play with broken crap they ‘stole’ from dumps. Michael was a mechanical genius, and Lucifer an academic one. Together they could build anything.

“Sorry, I can’t. I...umm...I have something I have to do tonight,” Lucifer replied after a minute. He swallowed and sounded nervous as he added, “See you later, Mike.”

That didn’t sound at all like Lucifer, nor did the reaction Michael received when he reached over and grabbed the other boy’s arm. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Lucifer jump like that. Letting go of his arm, Michael tried to look him in the eye, “Luce...are you okay?”

He turned away, mumbling, “I’m fine.”

Michael stepped in front of him, making sure to meet his eye this time, “Are you sure?” Lucifer finally looked up, annoyed, “I. Said. I’m. Fine. See you later.”

The shorter boy stepped out of the way with a sigh, “If you’re sure...see you, Luce.”

He didn’t believe him for a second. There were moments when Lucifer would act strange, but it had never been that obvious before. Which worried Michael to no end. By the time he reached his house-more like mansion-he’d already decided to demand an answer the next time he saw him. Meanwhile he had to deal with the circus at home.

Cas, Anna, and Balthazar were demanding they go to summer camp when school let out in a couple of months. Was graduation really only a few months away? Whatever, that wasn’t his problem right now.

“ _Why_ do you want to go to summer camp?” he asked as calmly as he could. Three sixth graders was really more than anyone should have to handle.

“ _Because_ ,” Anna explained, more diplomatic than her brothers, “Gadreel told us he was going to be working at one and we’re not going a whole summer without him.” Michael blinked. He took a deep breath, “First of all, it’s only one month, not the whole summer. Second of all, do you even know what you’d have to do at camp?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Cas replied stubbornly, “Gadreel’s gonna be there, so we’re gonna be there.”

“Have you even asked Gadreel?”

“Yes,” Balthazar jumped in, “He said it’d be nice, but that you had to approve it first. Something about you suggesting he do this...I dunno.” Michael nodded, “Most of that discussion was just between Gadreel and I. I told him that if he really wanted to know what it was like to be in charge of so many kids he become a camp counselor. I wasn’t aware he intended to go through with it, though.”

“I don’t object to it. You know how much I love being outside,” Gadreel informed him as he entered the living room from the kitchen, balancing four plates of food. Michael eyed the food, “Should I even _try_ reprimanding you for eating in the living room anymore?”

“No,” Balthazar helpfully supplied as he, Anna, and Cas took their plates from their older brother. Michael sighed for what felt like the millionth time that afternoon and went to fix himself lunch, joining his siblings in the living room to watch reruns of _Friends_ , and _The Big Bang Theory_ , aka the only shows that everyone in their family accepted albeit for different reasons.

Raphael and Gabriel showed up at some point as well, bickering until they noticed the television was on. You don’t talk over the television when people are watching. Michael sat back, and he knew that it was times like these when he admitted that for all his complaints at being in charge, he wouldn’t trade this family for any other.

 

~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~

 

Lucifer trudged home from the library slowly. It was fucked up, but the thing he hated most about his situation was lying to Michael. He shouldn’t have to lie to anybody, much less Michael. But he was too afraid to tell the truth. Even more fucked up, he wasn’t afraid for himself. He’d given up on himself years ago. Besides, he was relatively confident he could get away if he really tried.

He was afraid for his sisters. Meg could probably get away herself, although she’d have to drop out of school and she was surprisingly top of the sophomore class. But Ruby was just a sixth grader. If he ever made one wrong move… Of course, he wasn’t sure how exactly it could get worse, but he knew it could and would if he did. It destroyed whatever was left of him to know that even if he did everything perfectly, he still couldn’t protect them. He couldn’t save them.

Not that he didn’t try. Every once in a while, he’d skip school for days to take their parents’ work hours as a chance to check out potential hiding spots or safe houses. He never succeeded.

The rest of his time he spent squandering his youth, because why fucking not? He didn’t have a life. He couldn’t. And he couldn’t kill himself either, because that would have the same result as running away. It also never crossed his mind that people might actually care if he died. Meg and Ruby only needed him for the miniscule amount of protection he could offer them. Michael only needed him for academic help. He just wasn’t _necessary_. The only result of his death would be increased punishment for his sisters. He couldn’t let that happen.

Their parents had what was undeniably the least happy marriage of all time. No one could possibly hate each other as much as Abaddon and Crowley did. But they _did_ enjoy their shared wealth, so they just took out their hatred on their children.

And then there were Lilith and Alistair. Lilith was Crowley’s sister, whom he despised, and Abaddon’s long time best friend and occasional lover. Alistair was technically Lilith’s husband, even though it was clear they cared for each other about as much as Abaddon and Crowley. Instead, the four lived together reveling in their shared favorite pastime: torture. The only true connection between the married couples was that Abaddon and Crowley preferred physical torture, while Alistair and Lilith were more into sexual abuse. Sometimes they lured people over to the house for the four of them to torture for days, before ‘disposing’ of them, but their prime targets were, of course, the three children they saw as a waste of space and a reminder of each other.

They’d been in this situation for as long as Lucifer could remember. The whole reason they’d moved here was because some people were on the verge of discovering the family secret. He couldn’t remember the first time they’d laid a hand on him. But he could remember the first time they tried to do the same to Meg. He remembered standing in front of her, screaming at them not to. It was to no avail, and both were attacked more viciously and severely than they would have been had he not. It wasn’t worth Meg being hurt worse, but he would gladly take that much pain and more for the look she gave him when he stood in front of her. She looked up to him.

Not that he set a good example, and he noticed her taking up more of his unhealthy habits of late-at least smoking and drinking. When they finally turned to Ruby, she stood by him this time, although he begged her not to. Between the two of them, they’d been able to protect Ruby from the worst of it. But it wasn’t enough to save her.

Ruby admired him too, he knew, but he also knew that while she _admired_ him, she _was friends with_ Meg. He told himself it was a girl thing, or maybe seven years was just too far apart, but he didn’t believe it. He was convinced that he was unworthy of friends.

Michael threw him for a loop. When he had met him, his first thought had been somewhere along the lines of ‘fuck he’s gorgeous’ but the minute he opened his mouth and all that pretentious rich-boy crap spilled out, he’d u-turned into mortal enemy zone. Then came the fighting. During seventh and eighth grade, Lucifer had decided that there was in fact a higher power. Somebody had it out for him, because until he met Michael school had always been his escape from the pain and violence. After he met Michael, school was just a different form, granted one where he held more power.

And then the fighting became talking and suddenly they were tutoring each other. They hung out all the time, and built stuff together. Michael was the closest thing Lucifer’d ever had to a friend. But he couldn’t count him a friend because Michael didn’t know and if he did, he’d hate him.

Plus there was the fact that Lucifer had thought himself in love with him. It took him a while before he realized what troubled him about that-he couldn’t allow himself to be in love with someone. No, he was in love with the idea. Of what Michael stood for, what he had. Of safety.

Looking up, Lucifer realized he was home. He snorted. _Home_. By definition, he didn’t have one. He had a house. Well, not really that either. He had a prison. A prison which he consciously returned to every night. Reluctantly he pushed the door open, ready for whatever might be on the other side. When he saw nothing, he took a deep breath, briefly closing his eyes.

Wrong move. Lilith materialized out of the shadows the second he wasn’t looking and an iron grasp wrapped around his wrist. Lucifer’s eyes flew open as she slammed the door, fury evident on her face, “And just where do you think you’ve been?”

“Ss...studying,” he managed to say. She raised an eyebrow, “Oh really? Your mother was looking for you over an hour ago. She’s not at all happy, and when one of us isn’t happy…” she trailed off, waiting for Lucifer to repeat the phrase they’d told him since he was a child. He gulped, “...none of you are happy.”

“None of ‘us’,” she corrected, smirking, “Because you can rest assured our being angry is bad news for you. You’re lucky, though.”

“Oh?”

“Alistair’s got Ruby right now, and Crowley’s taking it out on Meg, so you only have to deal with two of us until after dinner,” she giggled. Lucifer shrugged to himself, thought ‘screw it, can’t get any worse now’, and punched her jaw. Lilith snarled and grabbed his throat with one hand, wiping away the small amount of blood with the other.

When she was confident she was back in control, she smiled again and licked the blood off her fingers. Then she shoved him down the stairs and into one of the torture rooms in the basement. He landed face-first on the ground at the feet of Abaddon.

She chuckled lightly as she leaned down to run a finger over his jaw before pulling him up and throwing him into a chair. It had happened so many times that he wasn’t even vaguely alarmed when he suddenly found himself strapped to the chair-just weary. Abaddon moved to a table littered with tools, making sure everything she did was in his line of vision. ‘Anticipation amplifies’ was another of the phrases he’d been taught his entire life.

Carefully she selected a serrated knife and approached. Lilith stood just behind him, biting and licking his neck, but cautious not to leave marks. Abaddon looked him over before ordering Lilith to remove his jeans. She smiled at him while Lilith was doing so, simply stating, “We don’t have money for new clothes. No sense in ruining them.”

Lucifer glared at her, unable to do more as he slowly made himself tune out. He’d spent a good deal of time researching meditation, and he modified it to be able to mostly ignore the torture. His body still responded without his mind, so they still got the screams they were after, but he didn’t recognize what he was feeling. It was the best he could do. Especially when Abaddon buried the serrated knife in his leg. She added pins and carved a few designs with some other blades, but apart from the numb pain, his mind registered none of it. Nor did it register whatever Lilith was doing with his other leg.

People sometimes asked why he only ever wore long pants, even in gym class. He gave them as standard a response as he could devise. No one needed to know the truth. Just like they didn’t need to know that the burns on his arm came from a poker, or that the black eye wasn’t from a gang fight, or that the slice on his hand had just been a way to collect blood for some fucked up ritual.

By then Abaddon had gotten bored with the knives, leaving the ones in his leg there, but untying him and tossing him to his feet. Before he could readjust, she punched him in the face. He flew back across the room, crumbling against the wall as she strode up and started kicking him.

“I. Sent. For. You. An. Hour. Ago,” each word was punctuated with another blow, “I expect to find you when I send for you. Is that understood?”

Lucifer nodded. Abaddon dragged him up the wall by his throat, “Answer me properly.”

“Yes,” he croaked despite the restriction on his breathing. But she didn’t let up, “Yes, what?” Struggling, Lucifer gasped in response, “Yes, I understand. When you’re looking for me, I have to be found.”

She released him and he crumpled to the ground. Looming over him with a dangerous grin she merely replied, “Good,” before walking out of the room. Lilith followed, only stopping to say, “Dinner’ll be ready in half an hour. I can’t wait for dessert.” Lucifer picked himself up, shuddering at the thought of being tortured by all four at once.

Stumbling out of the room, Lucifer made his way up to his bedroom, stopping short when he opened the door. Ruby and Meg were sitting on his bed and Ruby was curled up in Meg’s arms, crying.

Softly shutting the door behind him, Lucifer walked over to them, silently asking Meg what was going on with his eyes. She just glanced at Ruby and shifted to make room for him. He sat down on the other side of Ruby, who looked at him with tear-glazed eyes and sniffled. Hesitantly he put an arm around her too, and after a while she calmed down in the cocoon.

“What happened?” he asked gently. She didn’t answer, but Meg did, “Alistair. She’s almost never alone with him, and he full-on raped her. While drinking her blood.” Ruby nodded and showed him bite marks on her collarbone and arm. Lucifer inhaled sharply. One day he was going to murder Alistair, and it wasn’t going to be quick.

“And you?” he looked at Meg. She shrugged, “A few more scars and bruises. Nothing new. Speaking of, you’re missing your pants and you’ve got knives in your legs, did you know?”

Lucifer sighed, “Actually, I forgot. Where’re the bandages?” Meg handed them over without a word, and Lucifer pulled out the pins and covered the wounds. But when he went to remove the knife, her hand stayed his.

“You pull that out and you’ll die of blood loss. You’re gonna have to cauterize that,” she reminded him. He pinched the bridge of his nose, “I hate heat. If we ever get out of here, we’re moving somewhere icy, understood?” She nodded, “I wouldn’t mind California though. Actually, I wouldn’t mind anywhere that’s ‘not here’. Any ideas, Ruby?”

“France.”

Meg smiled, “Why France?” although she seemed to expect the reply of, “French Fries.”

Lucifer watched their grins at the inside joke and suddenly he couldn’t take it anymore. He knew what he had to do. He turned to Meg urgently, “Can you cauterize the wound? You’re better at it, and we have to hurry.”

“Hurry? Why?”

“Just do it. I’ll explain once its bandaged,” he implored. She nodded, calculating while she got the supplies. There was a moment of pain as the serrated edge of the knife sliced away even more flesh, and then the blood was pouring out of him. Ruby had her eyes squeezed shut, not ready to be reminded of blood, and Lucifer reached over and grabbed her hand. He too forced his eyelids to close as Meg approached with the fire-heated iron. There was a flash of searing heat and intense agony in which he contained his screams before everything went numb and he couldn’t feel it anymore.

After a few seconds, the pressure was removed and he opened his eyes. The blood flow had stopped and Meg was putting on the healing salve they used for cauterization. Then the injury was wrapped and she sat back on her heels, watching him expectantly.

Swallowing heavily, he looked at both of them once more to solidify his decision, “We’re leaving. Before dinner.” He checked his watch, “We have twelve minutes before they come looking for us. We’re leaving, and we have to leave everything behind. Are you okay with that?” Both nodded, but still stared at him like a madman. Finally Meg voiced their shared question, “Where are we going to go?”

Lucifer paused. He hadn’t thought where, just that they needed to leave now. _Before both or at least Ruby totally lost themselves the way he had_. And then he knew, “Michael’s.”

Meg raised an eyebrow, “Your friend’s house?”

“No, the craft store. Yes, my friend’s house. He lives in a mansion. He can hide us until we find a better place. There are people your age there, too.” Meg quirked the eyebrow, “Yeah. Raphael. I’m aware.” Lucifer sighed, “Raphael’s not that bad. She’s a little boring, I suppose, but Gabriel’s there too, and I thought you guys were on good terms. Plus Gadreel in eighth grade and the triplets are Ruby’s age.”

“Fine. It’s not like I’ve got a better option. So how’re we getting there?”

“We’re climbing out the window, hoods up and once we’re out of sight of the house, we run for it. Cool?”

“Cool,” she agreed half-heartedly, “I sure hope this works. I can’t bring myself to imagine what’ll happen if they catch us.”

“They won’t. And if they do, I’ll distract them and give you time to get help.”

Meg shot him a sharp look, “No. I’ll stand by you. Two of us can give Ruby more time.” Ruby glared at them both, “I’m not running if you’re not. We can all stand together.” Both siblings opened their mouths to argue, but fell silent at her glare. It would have been adorable in other situations.

As it was, they had to hurry, clambering as stealthily as possible out the window and across the roof. Once they were over a section of wall with no windows, they dropped down. Lucifer and Meg caught Ruby and they tried to walk as inconspicuously as possible in the direction of the Milton’s mansion.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they turned the corner without a problem. Then they broke into a run, ignoring the rain that started pelting down upon them in sheets. Yep, somebody hated him up there.

Finally the mansion was in sight. Turning to his sisters, Lucifer whispered, “Keep off to the side. Let me find out his mood first. I don’t see why he wouldn’t let us stay here, but just to be on the safe side try to keep out of sight until I mention you. Please?” They nodded and he pushed open the gate, walking up to the front door with an overwhelming amount of anticipation and dread.

 

~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~    ~

 

Michael was reclining on a couch in the library, reading, when he heard the doorbell ring. At first he ignored it. Someone closer could open it. When it rang again, he remembered that Gadreel and the triplets were out signing up for camp and Gabriel had talked Raphael into taking him somewhere.

Sighing, he swung his legs around and stood up. Heading down the stairs to the main entrance, he vaguely noted that there was rain now-nay, a downpour. Whoever was at the door was apparently impatient, for they started pounding on it when no one answered the bell. He chanced to shout, “Hold on a moment, I’m coming,” even though he doubted they could hear him over the storm.

Immediately he recognized Lucifer’s silhouette (really, why could he do that? he must spend too much time thinking about the other he scolded himself. it was a waste of time). Throwing open the door, he looked over the drenched boy and knew something was wrong.

“Lucifer?”

“Michael,” he greeted anxiously. He glanced over shoulder, at the street, before turning back, eyes filled with worry and-was that _fear_?

“Umm...there’s a lot of stuff I need to explain, but can my sisters and I come in?” Meg and Ruby appeared at his side and Michael was taken aback. He’d seen both before, but never exchanged even a word with either. But one more glance at Lucifer’s terrified face and Michael stepped aside to let them in. He cast a look at the street himself before shutting the door. Apart from the rain and their expressions, all seemed in order.

He turned around to see them dripping all over the carpet, “Uh, let me get you some towels… Lucifer, help yourself and your sisters to food. You know where the kitchen is.” Lucifer nodded and looked like he was about to say something, but he just ushered his siblings into the (thankfully) tiled room farther back in the house.

When he returned with an abundance of towels, Meg was devouring a sandwich and encouraging her younger sister to eat something at the very least. Lucifer too was ignoring the food, instead standing up as soon as he saw Michael.

Out of respect, he took a towel to mostly dry his soaked clothes while his sisters took the rest before dragging Michael off to the side.

“Luce, seriously, what is this all about? Does this have to do with the way you were acting this afternoon? What’s going on?” Michael cut himself off to allow Lucifer a chance to actually answer his questions.

“Yes, this has to do with the way I’ve been behaving. I’ll explain more in-depth later, but I need to know. Can we stay here, at least for a while?”

Michael blinked, “Umm...what? Why?”

“We ran away. I said I’d explain later. Please. We need a place to stay where they can’t find us. You’re the only person I know with the inclination and the money to help us. Please,” Lucifer was begging. Michael couldn’t quite comprehend that particular concept, beyond that it meant something bad was going on. Something far worse than he’d ever suspected.

“Okay,” he reassured his friend, “I wouldn’t kick you out when you obviously need help of some kind. And you can wait with the explanation until tonight, if you want. But everybody else will be home soon. What do you want me to tell them?”

“The truth. That we need a place to stay for a while and you’re willing to put up with us if we make ourselves useful.”

“Alright. But all that aside, it’s dinnertime. Let’s eat,” Michael had thought something was off about Lucifer ever since he’d let him in, but now he could put his finger on it. The other boy was pale and weak looking. He was even shaking, just a little. Looking over him again, Michael led him into the kitchen, “We can eat in the living room. There’s a fireplace in there. All three of you look cold.”

He turned to Lucifer again and whispered, “Wait, do you have anything with you? You should all get dry clothes on.”

Lucifer shook his head and Michael chose not to comment beyond, “I’m sure we have plenty. We’re close to the same size, Meg might fit some of Raphael’s old clothes, and Ruby probably can fit in some of Gabriel’s or the triplet’s old clothes. She’s pretty small.” Lucifer nodded and it both broke and confused Michael to see him so close to tears at those last three words. He found himself dreading the conversation he’d told Lucifer they’d be having that night.

“Do you know where the second floor walk-in storage closet is? The old clothes are all in there, if you want to take them up to look. There’s a couple of bathrooms near there if any of you want to change. I’m going to make some soup and garlic bread. Do any of you have allergies?”

“Not that I’m aware,” Lucifer responded before moving to his sisters and taking them up to the closet. Michael sighed. Something was awfully wrong. He just hoped letting them stay there wouldn’t put any of _his_ siblings in danger.

Gadreel, Anna, Balthazar, and Cas returned from camp registration before the MacLeod’s did from upstairs and found Michael cooking soup in the kitchen.

“What’s up with this?” Gadreel raised an eyebrow, “You only cook when somebody’s sick or hurt.” Michael nodded, “Lucifer appeared with his sisters. They looked pretty shaken up. Said they needed a temporary home. I let them stay.” Gadreel raised the other eyebrow, “They’re going to be living here?”

“Living or hiding. I’m not sure. Lucifer promised to tell me tonight.”

“Hmph. Whatever. They don’t bother me, I won’t bother them. And if they are in real trouble, I can stand with them. Or rather, I will stand with you. You know that.”

“I do. And for that I am glad. Now why don’t you go to finding wherever Gabriel hid the cake? This seems like a good occasion to finish it off,” Michael had no idea what was wrong with the MacLeod siblings, but if he had learned one thing from raising six brothers and sisters, it was how to comfort people.

Lucifer, Meg, and Ruby returned with new, dry clothes on and slightly more relaxed expressions. Michael dished out bowls of soup and slices of bread and passed them around to everyone present before leading them all into the considerably cozier living room.

Once they were all seated, they broke up into two groups. Cas, Balthazar, Anna, and Ruby split off to chat while the older four did similar. They kept the conversation light, although it ended up being rather awkward. That was a fact which was not helped by the arrival of a once again bickering Gabriel and Raphael who froze at the sight of new people.

Before they could question it, Michael half-ordered, half-suggested they go get some dinner, so they just kind of went with it.

The rest of the night was spent watching television and a very spirited game of Balderdash, until finally everyone was about ready to retire for the night. Michael, Raphael, and Gadreel (or the responsible people) helped set up the guest room for Meg and Ruby. The triplets offered Ruby to stay with them, but she clung to Meg, so they dropped it. Lucifer was going to bunk with Michael until all three of them could have their own room. “We’ll just have to clear out some of the spare rooms and get some furniture,” Michael claimed.

Michael, truth be told, was a bit nervous about sharing a room with Lucifer for what could easily be a week or two. Sharing your room for that long when you weren’t used to it was hard, but sharing it with your long-time and totally ignorant crush was something akin to hell, in his mind. The irony did not escape him.

When everyone was settled at last, Michael leaned back against the wall, sitting on his bed, staring over at Lucifer who was in a similar position on the trundle bed they found for him.

“So. You said you were gonna tell me what this is all about. You said you’d explain, so explain.”

Lucifer closed his eyes and a pained expression came over his face, before he muttered, “Please don’t hate me when I tell you.” Michael’s brows knit together, “Umm… why would I hate you? Unless you’re running from the police ‘cause you killed a man, maybe, but apart from that… I mean, we’re friends, Luce.” Lucifer’s eyes snapped open and he locked them with Michael’s, “You say that, but how can we when I’ve been lying to you for so long? You don’t know… How can we really be friends if you don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?” he was getting very anxious now, concerned about what Lucifer had been lying to him about. He was less concerned with the actual lying bit because he’d suspected it for a while, but the content of those lies was worrying him.

“Don’t know about my family. Don’t know the _real_ me,” he spat out the last sentence so bitterly that Michael almost interrupted. Instead, he let Lucifer continue, “There’s a reason I don’t talk about my family and don’t let you visit my house. It’s the same reason I wear pants all year long. I’ll show you.”

Michael had to admit, he never thought he’d be as freaked out as he’d felt when Lucifer started spontaneously stripping in his room at that moment. But the deeply confused excitement changed to horror and rage the moment he saw why. There were countless scars across his arms and legs, as well as the freshly bandaged wounds from earlier that day. All across his skin were bruises and marks, some clearly from knives, others clearly from teeth. Michael really didn’t want to think about how those got there.

Looking up at Lucifer’s face, he saw he’d closed his eyes again, head against the wall, trying to calm or prepare himself. That’s when Lucifer’s earlier words clicked into place, “You-Your family did this to you?”

The broken response was all too audible, “I hardly consider them my family, but yes. They did that and more. And not just to me, either…”

Michael froze, “Your sisters? Oh god. Even...even Ruby?” Lucifer nodded and Michael felt sick, “But she’s so young... and little! I mean, doing it to anyone is about as terrible as you can get, but a _kid_? That’s like…I actually don’t have words. For any of this.”

Lucifer snorted, “They’ve done it since I can remember. To me at least. They started with Meg when she was seven. I was nine. It was the same age for Ruby, only by then I was thirteen and Meg was eleven, so we could protect her better. We only moved here to help my parents and aunt and uncle avoid the police. They’re part of it too, by the way, my aunt and uncle. They live with us.”

He glanced over at Michael to see the boy staring at him with a horrified expression and sighed in defeat, “See, I knew you would hate me if you knew.”

That jarred Michael out of his state of shock, “Luce? Why the hell would that make me hate you? The people that did all this, they’re the ones I hate. If...if I understand you correctly, you’ve been abused your whole life, even as a kid, and somehow you manage to still...I don’t even know. But, this is why you’re always slacking off, right? And the days you disappear…”

“Planning various escapes, all of which came to nothing. Mostly ‘cause I didn’t know what to do with Ruby and leaving her behind is not even close to an option.”

Michael nodded faintly, “But today was different?” He paused when Lucifer quickly looked away, fear creeping up on him again.

“It wasn’t just physical abuse… Alistair and Lilith, they-they were into sexual abuse. Sometimes it went all the way to rape. Sometimes they tried to be extra weird and creepy about it. Today was one of those days, and...and it happened to be Ruby. And Meg brought her to my room ‘cause they think I can save them or something. Like I’m some sort of hero or protector. I-I _can’t_ , though. I’m not strong enough. But when I saw them, I just knew I’d never be able to look them in the eye again if I didn’t get them out of there. You were the only person I could think of to go to,” he sounded so distraught that Michael wanted to cry. He would have given anything for those words not to be true, but he knew they were. He knew because he knew Lucifer. Those words were the missing piece, the answer as to why he acted like he did. Michael had always been curious about it; now he hated himself for it.

He wanted to reach out and hold the other boy’s hand at least, or hug him, but he didn’t know how Lucifer might react to that. Instead he simply said, “You and your sisters can stay as long as you want or need. And if anyone comes looking for you, we can hide you. None of you will have to face them again, I swear.”

Lucifer looked up from his hands and it hurt to see the glimmer of hope in his eyes. It was not a look meant for teenagers.

“Are-are you absolutely sure? It may end up being months…”

“Luce. I told you. We’re friends. You’re my best friend, and you need safety. I would never turn you away.”

Michael didn’t get to say anything else because before he could register what was happening, Lucifer had thrown himself at him and was kissing him fiercely. Stunned, he didn’t move until Lucifer had already pulled back, looking worried, “Sorry... I didn’t mean to… It was just…”

Before he could make another half-hearted excuse, Michael leaned up and kissed him again, lightly, and murmured, “Shh, Luce, it’s okay.”

Well, he really didn’t know what else to say. It certainly wasn’t okay in Michael’s mind. Now he had to figure out if Lucifer actually _did_ like him, or if it had been completely spur of the moment based on their current situation.

But Lucifer leaned into him, resting his head in the crook of his neck. He froze as he felt the other boy’s lips move across his neck, his words barely a whisper, “You know, I told myself it wasn’t you, it was just safety. You represented an ideal I could never achieve. But now you’ve let me achieve it, and I can’t pretend anymore. It was you I’ve loved all along.”

Michael couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but it nonetheless made him wrap his arms around the other boy in a protective manner. Gently he stroked Lucifer’s hair, whispering back, “And I you. I would have told you earlier, but I didn’t know how to say it, considering no one but Gadreel knew I’m bi. I’m sorry if it would have helped.” He shifted so that he and Lucifer were laying down, and despite being the smaller of the two, he curled around him protectively.

“It wouldn’t have, I’m sure. I would have just made up an excuse, for you or me I’m not sure,” Lucifer replied, snuggling closer, “Don’t blame yourself. You were right with what you said-the only people whose fault this is are the four people still living in that house. Speaking of, this place is locked and secure, right?”

“Yeah, I checked like I do every night. All the doors and windows are locked and the security system-don’t worry, it’s the best-is functioning. Plus, we’re in a well-to-do neighborhood, nobody knows there are no adults here, and your sisters are in one of the safest rooms in the house. Not to mention I can hear all the rooms in the house from here. That’s why this is my room,” he felt Lucifer nod in response before adding, “Alright, now please, try to sleep. You looked like you need it.”

Without waiting for a response, he reached up and turned out the lights, before replacing his arm across Lucifer. The last words he spoke that night were, “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

And just before he drifted off, he heard Lucifer answer, “I know. Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am working on a sequel of how everybody's life changes after this, and maybe one about Gadreel, Anna, Cas, and Balthazar at camp. Please leave comments and reviews!


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